Tax dollars going up in smoke

Anyone who watches television programs marketed toward our generation is barraged by the utter inanity of the current crop of 'anti-drug' commercials flooding the airwaves. It seems that every day, a television viewer is forced to watch yet another advertisement showing the evils of marijuana ad naseum. The crusade of keeping kids off drugs might seem to be a noble cause for many people, but this multi-million dollar effort is an effort in futility. This new 'sensory drug war' is a waste of time, money and resources of the government, offering no new information about drugs and, in fact, turning many under-25-year-olds against them.\nIn May, a study showed that the current crop of '____ is my anti-drug' ads had little to no effect on the drug-habits of teenagers. Over the past five years, $929 million of taxpayer money has been spent for anti-drug advertising. A report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy examined the drug advertisements from September 1999 to December 2001. According to an article from www.cannibisnews.com, "It concluded that 'there is no evidence yet consistent with a desirable effect on youth,' and no significant decline in marijuana use during that time. In other words, the ads fell flat."\nIn fact, perhaps the opposite of the desired response happened. From www.abcnews.com, some 12- and 13-year-olds were, in fact, more likely to smoke marijuana after seeing these ads. From personal experiences, I can vouch for these kids. After seeing one of these commercials targeted towards my age demographic, I feel this sudden and unmistakable urge to go and light up a joint right there watching television, as almost to say, "You can't control me with your propaganda." This feeling is not just an aberration. Many students I've talked to, whether on the IU campus or not, feel the same way. To make so many people actually want to use drugs is obviously not the intent of these ads, and therefore they must be considered a failure.\nSince the aforementioned study was released months ago, Drug Czar John Walters stated that a new study would be compiled six months later, in October 2002. This is only one month away, and have we as a market audience really changed that much? Probably not. When I saw a new drug ad the previous night, those same feelings of rebelliousness and anti-government protest swelled up inside of me. What can a well-meaning anti-drug campaign do?\nGet edgier, apparently. \nThe new crop of anti-drug ads attempts to connect the War on Drugs to the War on Terror. These two wars on ideals currently could use more support from the populace, and it should come as no surprise that the government would put them together in order for both of them to 'get the rub.' The 'edgier' ads attempt to link the act of smoking marijuana in a college dorm to the act of flying a hijacked airliner into the World Trade Center. \n("Remember kids, if you take a hit off of that bong, you're nothing more than a cold-blooded anti-American terrorist!") \nThe evidence connecting your average joint to Osama bin Laden is a bit sketchy and unproven at best, but television viewers are still forced to put up with these ads in order to perpetuate the "scary bogeyman" theory and frighten us back in line. Call your local congressperson and tell him or her that you think that this campaign is a waste of time and money. There are more important things to do with our government's time than to chase phantoms.